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2 July 2007 : Column 900Wcontinued
Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at his Department and its agencies in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost of those bonuses was. [146420]
Edward Miliband: The number of senior civil servants in the Cabinet Office awarded bonuses and the total cost of these bonuses, since the bonus pot was introduced in 2002, are as follows:
Year | Number of bonuses | Total cost (£) |
Bonuses were not awarded to senior civil servants prior to 2002.
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Office in the last three years; and at what total cost. [146981]
Edward Miliband: The number of civil servants (including senior civil servants) in the Cabinet Office awarded end of year bonuses and the total cost of these bonuses over the past three years are as follows:
Year | Number of staff | Total cost (£) |
There is also a small number of staff receiving in-year bonuses. The total cost is not held centrally and would only be available at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much his Department spent on away days located outside his Department's buildings in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [146863]
Edward Miliband: It is not possible to readily identify from the Department's accounting system how much the Cabinet Office spent on away days located outside the Department's buildings. This information is available only at disproportionate cost.
All Cabinet Office expenditure on away days is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and other HM Treasury guidance.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much public expenditure was incurred by Directgov for paying to send staff to attend the Good Communication Awards on 30 May 2007 held at the Marriott Grosvenor Hotel, London. [146864]
Edward Miliband: Directgov were nominated for, and won, the Good Communications Mobile Technology Award 2007 and received a commendation for the Central Government Website of the Year Award. The only costs incurred by Directgov were for the purchase of two tickets for the awards at a cost of £50 per ticket (£100 in total).
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for what reason the vacancies published on the Government Communication Network public website will no longer be advertised to the public. [146866]
Edward Miliband: The Government Communication Network (GCN) website (www.comms.gov.uk) is now a password-protected site for Government communicators and other civil servants. The new GCN site has been made into a more practical and interactive resource to support the professional development of Government communicators.
All job vacancies which are open to the public are now advertised on the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway and through other public media such as newspapers and specialist magazines.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much the Cabinet Office received from the Deputy Prime Minister's Office for the official residence of the Deputy Prime Minister in Admiralty House (a) in total and (b) to cover the cost of (i) rent, (ii) security, (iii) utilities, (iv) facilities management and (v) general maintenance in 2006-07. [147196]
Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office received a total of £173,000 from the Deputy Prime Minister's Office in 2006-07 in relation to the Deputy Prime Minister's official residence at Admiralty House.
The operation of Admiralty House is covered by a single facilities management contract which covers maintenance, renovation, security and running costs. It is not possible, within the overall total, to separately identify the costs that arise from the three flats in Admiralty House. However, for internal accounting purposes the Deputy Prime Minister's Office meets 20.7 per cent. of the costs of the operation of the entire building. This is calculated on the basis of the floor area of the flat as a proportion of the total floor area of Admiralty House.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what requests have been made to his Department under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000; and what the (a) FOI case reference number, (b) request summary, (c) request outcome and (d) reason for exemption was in each case where appropriate. [146843]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Since 1 January 2005, DFID has received 589 Freedom of Information (FOI) requests covering a very broad range of subjects. Each case is logged and given a reference number. DFID is committed to openness and transparency in accordance with the spirit of the FOI Act, and the presumption is always in favour of disclosure unless exemptions are found to apply. For example, in 2006, 80 per cent. of FOI requests received by DFID were answered in full without the withholding of any information. Only in 7 per cent. of cases was information fully withheld under permissible exemptions, often after consultation with other Government Departments such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence.
To provide a summary of each of the 589 requests, the request outcome, and any exemptions used could be done only at disproportionate cost. Summary statistical information on the outcomes of FOI requests and exemptions used are reported by DFID to the Ministry of Justice every quarter and can be accessed on the Ministry of Justice website at:
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answers of 24 April 2007, Official Report, column 1013W, on armed forces: mass media, 2 May 2007, Official Report, column 1665W, on service personnel: media and 8 May 2007, on detainees: Iran, and following the publication of the Fulton and Hall reports, whether he is now in a position to identify any instance of a second-hand account of military experiences being sold to the media by relatives of service personnel who have been refused permission to sell them directly. [145147]
Des Browne [holding answer 27 June 2007]: I have nothing further to add. It remains impossible for the MOD to determine whether relatives of service personnel have sold to the media second-hand accounts of their relatives military experiences. Any such transactions would be a private matter between the media organisation and the individuals concerned.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contacts his Department has had with anti-corruption investigators from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in relation to defence orders with Saudi Arabia since January 2006; and if he will make a statement. [143092]
Des Browne: No one in the Department has had any contact with anti-corruption investigators from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in relation to defence orders with Saudi Arabia since January 2006.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there have been revisions of and amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding between the US Government European Command and the Ministry of Defence Police 1989; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [146742]
Des Browne [holding answer 29 June 2007]: To date, there has been no revision or amendment to the 1989 memorandum of understanding between the US Government European Command and the Ministry of Defence police.
Negotiations are currently being held with the US authorities to review the policing and guarding services provided by the Ministry of Defence police.
Jane Kennedy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely impact of a boycott of Israeli universities and academics by British universities,
colleges and academics, as proposed by the Universities and Colleges Union, upon Jewish students studying in Britain. [146236]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 28 June 2007]: The Government fully support academic freedom and are firmly against any academic boycotts of Israel or Israeli academics. The Government have demonstrated their clear commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity in higher education and more broadly in British society. Universities as independent, autonomous bodies are responsible themselves for complying with legislation and fulfilling their statutory duties. Under the Race Relations Act 1976 (as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000) university governing bodies are also responsible for assessing the impact of their policies on student and staff of different racial groups.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students have brought complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator in each month since it was established; and if he will make a statement. [146398]
Bill Rammell: The following table shows the latest available information on the number of student complaints handled by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator Scheme, since its inception in 2004.
Month | Total per month | Cumulative total |
Source: Office of the Independent Adjudicator |
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